15 February 2013Last updated at 06:16

In pictures: Hopes to save 'haunted' Wymering Manor

Volunteers have taken over Wymering Manor, Portsmouth's oldest house, with plans to restore is as a community asset.

The Grade II listed building, which was built around 1581, has been unused since 2006 and attempts by the council to sell it had failed.

It is said to be haunted by more than 20 ghosts - including a choir of nuns and Sir Roderick of Portchester who was murdered outside the manor in the Middle Ages.

It was built by a Catholic family who had to worship in secret and there are signs of two Priest Holes where priests could hide away.

Owner Thomas Knollys Parr was well known for the frequent parties he threw for local people at the manor around the time of the 1920s and 30s.

Plans to restore the building and turn it into a community centre and events venue could cost up to £2m

The manor house was threatened with demolition in the 1950s but managed to survive and is still standing today.

Many of the original beams from Tudor times can be seen in the ceilings.

The current building has been a vicarage, a family house, a youth hostel and home to a Catholic religious order.

The cellars would have been used to store and prepare food in Victorian times.

What is thought to be the original front door is still in place in the dining room.

Hampshire & Isle of Wight

In pictures: Hopes to save 'haunted' Wymering Manor

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